Returning The Favour
by new born bliss
Summary: a sequel to A Servant's Duty. Arthur reveals his true feelings to Merlin after nearly losing him. Rated M for smut


**A/N I was up for some merthur fluff/smut this fine saturday evening. enjoy and review!**

At least 12 dozen pair of eyes stared at him. Twisted and greedy smiles etched on their dirty and hairy faces as they laughed at him menacingly, waving their swords to scare him off, but Merlin stood there unmoving, only his hunched eyebrows conveying he was indeed worried of what was about to happen. Arthur and the other knights were searching for him, but he knew they won't get here in time.

The bandits had completely surrounded him and were about to attack at any moment. Merlin kept watching them, his muscles were tense, and all of his senses highly alert. He was completely empty handed, not even a little knife in his jacket. The men were snickering and taking their time, this was their idea of hunting. The wizard didn't have any gold or anything worth stealing, he tried explaining that to them, but the savages refused to listen or let him go, from their wild and mad eyes it wasn't not hard to guess that they wanted to kill him simply because it was fun.

One of the bandits, most likely the leader, covered in expensive but dirty animal fur suddenly yelled hoarsely signaling the start of their attack. Merlin flinched slightly, and not a second later they advanced on him, running to him from all directions. Everything else happened in a matter of seconds. Merlin felt a wave of panic overcome him, he inhaled deeply feeling it trigger the magic within him. The sudden power he felt was so great, he felt bits and pieces of magic drip from his fingertips, radiating all around him. He closed his eyes preparing for the fight and everything around him stilled and slowed down, all of a sudden there was no screaming, no forest – only him standing there alone, focusing on the magic in his hands. Merlin's eyes flew open and thrust out his hands and sent the bandits flying back a few feet, his eyes glowed brighter than before and ripped out one of the trees sanding close to him with all its roots, sending it to the ground.

Merlin took a second breathing deeply and staring at the big oak tree on the ground all the while thinking _oh my god, I did that_ then stared at his hands, still feeling the adrenaline surging through him. He looked at the unmoving bandits lying unconscious or even dead on the ground and let out a triumph laugh. It was shaky and a bit hysterical but it felt so good. He alone defeated at least fifteen bandits. Sometimes Merlin wished Arthur would know about his magic, just so he could see that he isn't a complete idiot and can use magic for great things. Or perhaps that maybe he would treat him differently and would acknowledge his feelings for the prince.

The last bit of adrenaline left him as he sighed a bit sadly now and turned to walk away. After the morning incident months ago, Merlin could no longer hide nor deny his attraction to the prince of Camelot. Gaius simply thought that Merlin accepted his destiny and started to get along with Arthur but that wasn't true one bit. Arthur still treated him like a disposable servant, calling him stupid whenever he got the chance, while Merlin tended to his every need, saved his life countless of times, and ignored all of his insults - all from the love he felt for the man. The only closeness he got from him was from the times Arthur asked him to get him off. It became a dirty secret of theirs, whenever the prince was distressed or angry Merlin would put his blabbering mouth to good use and he would make every time last as long as possible. Though there were certain rules he had to abide: for one he wasn't allowed to tell anyone of this, no kissing on the mouth, Merlin couldn't get off in front of him and he was to leave as soon as they were done. There was only one time they broke the last rule, when Arthur was really drunk he ended up fucking him and stayed with him for the whole night.

The wizard kept going through the memories with a sly smile on his face, walking past the last of the bandits that flew away the farthest. He was too deep in thought to hear one of them behind him stir on the ground or hear the wind from a flying dagger. A second later Merlin found himself paralyzed, his breath hitching in his throat. He looked down and saw blood dripping on the ground, his own blood. Suddenly he couldn't find his voice, his legs or his lungs as he fell to the ground helplessly with the dagger still stuck in his back just as everything went black.

When Merlin started to regain consciousness everything seemed out of place. For one he was constantly moving up and down against his will, like he was being carried which jumbled his thoughts even more. He couldn't move, or find his voice or breathe. He wanted to breathe, he needed to breathe. Where had the air around him gone? Why couldn't he inhale? _No, I need to breathe I need to breathe, give me air SOMEONE HELP ME_ his thoughts screamed desperately and his eyes flew open in panic. He tried to reach his voice but his throat was burning and felt raw. Merlin didn't bother looking around or figuring why his throat and back hurt, now he needed air and he started to move his hands and legs desperately without knowing why, but he had to do _something. _He heard something near him that sounded roughly like his name, yes, the voice was familiar too, _Arthur, _he managed to say in his mind before closing his eyes again.

When he woke up he found himself in his bed now. His head was spinning and his back hurt a lot but at least he could breathe and his throat didn't feel as bad. He sat up carefully feeling the bandages shift. Pieces of memories fell back together in his mind and he remembered what happened. He fought the bandits and one of them stabbed him. He swung his legs over the bed and tried to stand up, but he couldn't do so without wincing and feeling the wound ache. Though, it wasn't as bad as he expected. He reached for the glass of water he found on his bedside cabinet and carefully went out of his room.

"How are you feeling?" Gaius asked lifting his head from the table where he was mixing up another potion.

"I feel fine. What happened exactly?" he asked to clarify

"You were injured in the forest. Some bandits attacked you and one of them stabbed you in the back. When Arthur found you, you were already unconscious and lost a great deal of blood. They brought you back just in time. The dagger punctured your lung, it was a miracle you even survived" he explained, his old face seemed to have gained a few more wrinkles as he stared at him worried.

"Miracle indeed" the wizard drew his eyebrows together remembering how badly he wanted to breathe.

"Though the knights were confused as to why there were at least a dozen dead bandits lying near you" Gaius added with a little smile and a knowing look. Merlin smiled modestly in response and looked away from the piercing eyes of the physician.

"How long was I asleep?" he asked putting on his clothes

"About a day- Merlin, where do you think you're going?" he inquired seeing him walk towards the door

"To work" he answered confused

"Merlin you need to rest. I'm sure Arthur will do fine without you for a day"

"It's fine, really!" he assured him "It doesn't hurt that bad" he said heading out the door not letting Gaius protest. He walked over to Arthur's chambers as quickly as he could, wincing once in a while, while taking a turn. Knowing Arthur he won't be too pleased with him for missing work though when he entered he found Arthur standing by the window, like he always does when he's deep in thought. He cleared his throat and saw him turn his head sharply and his eyes widen in surprise at the sight of his servant. _I must be really in trouble_ Merlin thought as he began to explain himself

"I-I'm sorry I'm late" he mumbled lamely but the prince was already advancing towards him, he was sure to get a blow to the head for missing a day's work. "I can explain, I-" but he was met not with a fist but with a set of lips crashing into his. Merlin gasped in surprise while the prince backed him up until he was near the wall, then gently laid his hand on his back where the dagger went in. The wizard kissed back without a second thought and pressed himself against the blond. Arthur attacked and nibbled on his bottom lip wildly before thrusting his tongue in his mouth as well and groaning loudly in his throat. Merlin didn't protest, how could he? when prince of fucking Camelot was kissing him like nothing else in the world mattered. Merlin tangled his hands in Arthur's hair bringing their faces even closer as their teeth and tongues collided with each other in a way that made Merlin think he was going to pass out again. Suddenly he didn't feel his wound, his legs, his head as everything around him screamed _Arthur. _

Their lips broke apart when they started running out of air, but Arthur kept their foreheads touching, quietly panting

"So I take it you're not mad with me then?" Merlin asked smiling slightly while his head continued to spin

"I thought I was going to lose you" Arthur whispered seriously

"But you didn't, I'm right here" he said gently moving his hand up and down his back

"Seeing you there, gasping helplessly for air and losing so much blood" the prince trailed off not listening to Merlin. He took a deep breath "I'm glad you pulled through" he said collecting himself

"I'm sure you'd have been able to find yourself another servant" he said smiling, surprised in Arthur's more sensitive side, he always thought the prince didn't care for him all that much.

"You're more than just a servant to me" he raised his voice a bit "All the things I say about you being an idiot and a coward, I don't mean any of them. You're the only one I really trust." He took a deep breath "I care about you Merlin. More than you know. More than I let it show."

Merlin was pretty sure he was blushing, he didn't even realize when his lips stretched in a wide smile. His heart was fluttering, and he had lost his voice again, all he could do was stare at the bright blue of the prince's eyes. Arthur smiled fondly back at him before saying

"For all the trouble I put you through, sending you out on your own in the woods straight into the hands of those bandits, I think I should make it up to _you_ now" his eyes turned mischievous and there was a glint of a smirk on his face before he connected their lips once again and dragged them lazily against Merlin's while guiding him to the bed and moving his hand to the small of his back. Merlin moaned softly into his mouth when he felt Arthur press their crotches together. When the wizard felt the back of his legs hit the bed, the prince gently lowered him down onto the mattress, careful not to press on his wound and held himself above him all the while kissing his lips, then tracing Merlin's jaw and ear with his mouth making the other shudder. Then he moved to kissing his beautiful, pale neck and ending up sucking on a spot just below his ear making him squirm. His hands wasted no time in getting his pants off and letting one wrap around his half-hard cock.

The wizard gasped in surprise, gripping the sheets with his hands. This felt _so much_ better and hotter than jacking himself off. He licked his lips unconsciously when he felt the hand start to move slowly up and down his shaft. Merlin was left quite touched by the fact that Arthur was so incredibly gentle and slow and loving throughout this, placing little kisses along his neck and continuously asking him if he was alright and if his wound hurt or if he wanted to stop. Merlin tangled his hand in Arthur's hair making him look up

"Don't you dare stop" he almost growled. The prince all but smirked in response and sped up his hand, adding a twist at the end and smashed his lips into Merlin's once again, quite roughly this time. Their tongues battled and fought until Merlin was forced to surrender and let Arthur have complete control over him once again. The warlock couldn't help letting out the moans into the kiss since Arthur's hand was gripping his cock _just right_ and he was getting _so close_. So close, he felt his toes curling. He clawed his hand into Arthur's back, dragging his nails along it in a way the he knew the prince liked and felt him groan at the back of his throat as he bit down on Merlin's bottom lip. With his other hand Arthur stilled Merlin's hitching hips, so he wouldn't pull on his wound and reopen it and soon after Merlin broke the kiss and nearly yelled when his orgasm hit, Arthur's name on his lips.

After he came down from cloud nine he saw Arthur tucking him in and telling him he needs to rest and that he's relieved from his serving duties until he is fit enough. Merlin's eyes slipped shut, though he still felt Arthur place a soft peck on his lips before leaving the room.


End file.
